


Jason Dupain-Cheng

by FaithAndATypeWriter



Series: Tales of the Rebirth of Jason Dupain-Cheng [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adoptive family, Aftermath of Conditioning, Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff, Big Brother Jason Todd, Conditioning, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Calling This Bitter Sweet And Strange, Jason Dupain-Cheng, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, MariBat, Mentions of Graphic Violence But Not Described, More Like PG in rating?, No Reference to Beauty and the Beast Though, Protective Jason Todd, Reunions, Temporary Character Death, minor lila salt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23340271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithAndATypeWriter/pseuds/FaithAndATypeWriter
Summary: Jason had two options that night: steal the hubcaps off the Batmobile or break into an under protected bakery.  His stomach made the decision for him.It was probably the best decision Jason had ever made.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain
Series: Tales of the Rebirth of Jason Dupain-Cheng [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154114
Comments: 83
Kudos: 1584





	Jason Dupain-Cheng

**Author's Note:**

> This just started as an idea I was going to quickly (ha!) jot down after some musing about the Jason-as-Marinette’s-brother idea, added a little bffs Nino and Kim, and then...we got this. :D Enjoy?
> 
> Just a note, I tried to incorporate a little more of the French abbreviated titles.  
> Mme. is Madame (which can be a married woman or an older single woman)  
> M. is Monsieur

Jason had two options that night. 

The Batmobile was left unguarded in Crime Alley. 

Idiot move. 

Jay could easily pop tires off and get some fast cash from both the tires and the hubcaps. He’d probably get some cred too for stealing from the Bat. 

But there was also a far too innocent looking bakery not too far away. _Way_ too under outfitted when it came to security features. It was practically _begging_ someone like Jason to pick the lock and help himself to the fresh treats he could _still_ smell wafting in the otherwise pungent air. 

It wasn’t the more lucrative of the two options...but Jason was starving and his stomach made the decision for him. 

Jason easily found the day-old basket of goodies that were waiting to be taken to a homeless shelter. Well, he was homeless, so...he could save them a step. Jason was so hungry he started eating right then and there...just as the lights went on. 

He whirled around to find a very surprised, very _large_ mustached man directly behind him. Jason froze. He was good in a street fight but this guy was twice his size and had a rolling pin within easy reach. Jason was kicking himself for forgetting that bakeries typically opened early and the bakers arrived even earlier.

Finally, the man spoke. 

“If you’re going to steal something, at least take the eclairs. They may be a day old, but they're delicious and for some reason they just haven’t been selling!” The man talked with his hands but stopped when he saw how nervous it made Jason. “Could you try them and tell me what you think?”

Jason was skeptical but his hunger and curiosity won out. The eclairs were _heavenly_ and Jason told him they were _way_ too good for the pit that was Gotham. 

Tom, as he introduced himself, laughed and invited Jason to breakfast with his family. 

Again, Jason wondered what game this guy was playing. He had his guard up in case the jolly giant or his “family” should try anything, but...well...Jason was starving and if breakfast was anything like the eclairs then he figured at least he’d die happy. 

Turned out, the couple was pretty sweet. They were from France and had gone to culinary school in Gotham--weird choice--before getting jobs at a small bakery that had an attached apartment. 

Jason was still thrown off by the instantly doting nature of Sabine and was unsure how to respond. However, when a little girl stumbled out of her bedroom a few minutes later in pink, frilly footy pajamas and dragging around both a stuffed cat and a blanket twice her size, his guard seemed to crumble. The little girl climbed up onto the chair next to him and laid her head on the table—still snuggling the cat and blankie—before she acknowledged him with bleary eyes. 

“Hi,” she said in a sweet, sleepy voice. “I’m Marinette. I’m five and a half. Who are you?”

“I’m Jason,” he answered. “Um...I’m eleven...and some change.”

She giggled. Jason wasn’t sure when he’d last heard an honest to goodness giggle. 

“You look hungry, you can have my crepes.” Marinette said with a big yawn. 

Sabine chuckled as she brought over two plates filled to overflowing with steaming-hot crepes and toppings. 

“Jason has his own crepes, Sweetie, you have to eat your own.” Sabine said gently. 

“Oh. Okay.” Marinette picked herself up enough for her mother to put the plate in front of her. “Do you want to play dress up later?”

Jason never stood a chance. 

Within weeks he had been formally adopted by the Dupain-Cheng family. Within a year, an opportunity arose for Tom and Sabine to own their own bakery back in France. Jason briefly worried that they wouldn’t take him with them, but that worry was quickly dismissed when Tom and Sabine started diligently teaching him and Marinette French. 

Marinette had always grown up around French and English and transitioned to the change (almost) easily, but Jason struggled a bit. When they first arrived in Paris, the language barrier was hard on Jason and he was still having trouble making friends and allowing people close to him after living in Crime Alley for so long. Still, Tom and Sabine spent their free time taking the kids to explore and get to know their new city and Jason found things to like about it--like the fact he could take his sister to the park without as much fear that they’d both get shot or mugged. Or both. 

Jason adored his new family and he _adored_ his baby sister. While he had trouble letting people (outside his family) close, he made sure she had good friends to play and have fun with. Two boys quickly became staples in Marinette’s friend group: Nino and Kim. Soon, Jason found himself the honorary older brother of all three. 

Not everything was great, however. 

Some of his peers were truly kind, but some of them treated his past in the infamous Gotham as though it was some fascinating oddity for their entertainment. They didn’t understand the vast differences between Paris and Gotham and none of them had ever gone to sleep hungry and wondering if some thug would try to jump them while they slept. Some kids bullied him for his past, but Jason didn’t care much about them. Tom and Sabine always made sure he knew how proud they were of him and reassured him of their love—even when he’d get in a fight over some jerk calling him gutter trash. They’d reprimand him for resorting to violence...but then they’d have a very loud, very _detailed_ discussion with the other kid’s parents about the bully’s behavior. 

Still, when Jason found out Catherine Todd wasn’t his birth mother it turned his world upside down. 

Tom and Sabine said they would help him look into his birth family’s history...but it wasn’t enough. He had answers he needed to find and, for once, they were beyond what Tom and Sabine could help him with. He made sure to give Tom, Sabine, and Marinette each a hug and told them he loved them before they went to bed and then he left them a note and took off. 

A few weeks later he called collect from Ethiopia to let them know he was okay and was close to finding his birth mother. Marinette answered the phone.

“Hey, Pixie Pop.”

“Jay-Jay?!” 

Jason’s heart broke and he felt like the scum of the earth when Marinette burst into tears. 

“Mama! Papa!” Marinette’s voice was loud in Jason’s ear. “It’s Jay-Jay!”

“Jason?” Sabine gasped into the phone. 

“Son?” Tom sounded out of breath, he’d probably run up the stairs, and Jason could tell they were all trying to listen in on the landline at once. “Are you alright? Are you safe?”

“I’m fine.”

“Please come home, sweetheart!” Sabine pleaded. “Just tell us where you are and we’ll send you a ticket. We can help you find your birth mom, we promise.”

Jason felt like he was choking. “I...um...I think I found her actually.”

“Jay-Jay, you gotta come home!” Marinette cried. “Please?”

“I promise I’ll come home, Pixie Pop.” Jason said. “I just need some answers and then I’ll be home. I promise.”

But, of course, Jason couldn’t keep that promise. 

And when he came to, sputtering out water from the Lazarus Pit and filled with more rage than he’d ever known existed, Talia al Ghul made sure he never wanted to go back again. She told him the Dupain-Chengs had disowned him for his actions even before he died. Talia showed him a picture of an angry Marinette in the park and said she hated Jason for leaving her. They wanted no part of him and they’d moved on. Then she gave him a target for his anger. The Joker killed him, but Batman had been just barely too late to save him. She told him how Batman allowed Joker to remain free and continue hurting people. That he didn’t care that people like Jason kept getting hurt and had to die alone. 

With that focus, Jason became Red Hood. 

  
  


*****

  
  


It never ceased to amaze Jason that Batman never gave up trying to get through to him. After all, the man had no connection to Red Hood and owed him nothing. Yet, somehow, he didn’t just take Red Hood down for the trail of blood and vengeance he wrought. And when Batman discovered Talia’s influence and the history of a boy named Jason Dupain-Cheng, his efforts seemed to redouble. 

Red Hood lost a great deal of his bloodlust. He came to know Batman as a comrade that wanted to keep people safe. Batman wanted to protect life, not take it. That was something the old Jason would have respected and the new Red Hood eventually came to respect it too. 

Still, he never expected Bruce to sit him down in the Batcave one night after patrol and ask him if he ever considered contacting his adopted family. 

Jason glared at Bruce before sullenly sitting back in his chair. 

“They wouldn’t want me to.” Jason said bitterly. “They’re doing just fine without me.”

“They’ve had to work very hard with a lot of therapy to be doing ‘just fine without you,’ Jay.” Bruce said. 

That caught Jason’s attention. “What?”

Bruce brought up an old file on the Batcomputer, dated just days after Jason’s death. 

“I don’t know why I saved this, but I always got the feeling I just needed to.” Bruce hit play on a video. 

It was the surveillance video off of the camera in Batman’s cowl. 

Jason’s breath caught as achingly familiar doors came into view and were flung open after Batman knocked on the door. 

“Jay-Jay?!” 

Marinette’s little face crumbled into disappointment, confusion, and a little fear when it wasn’t her brother she saw outside the door, but Batman. Tom and Sabine appeared behind her at that point and he could see when they pieced together why _Batman_ would come to them. Disbelief and raw grief plainly washed over them as they invited him in. 

All three of them cried when Batman told them about Jason’s death; but Tom and Sabine tried to stay calm for Marinette, who was inconsolable. When Marinette ran out of the room, screaming that he wasn’t dead, Sabine rushed after her. With Marinette out of the room, Batman answered Tom’s questions about the specifics of what happened and about what Jason’s last minutes were like and the man...his father...utterly broke down and sobbed. 

“I’ve kept tabs on them.” Bruce said when the video ended. Jason had tears running down his cheeks but Bruce didn’t comment on it. “Marinette had the hardest time accepting your death and she refused to talk to the grief counselor at first. Within that first year, she ran away three times in attempts to find you.”

“No!” Jason gasped in horror. 

Marinette was only nine when he’d left. He shuddered at the thought of her trying to follow his path through the scummy places he’d ventured. 

“She didn’t get very far before being intercepted,” Bruce went on. “Except for the last time. That last time she was missing for a week and a half. Tom and Sabine called me when the Paris Police came up empty after the first twenty-four hours. Thankfully, I had left them Batman’s contact information, just in case. I found her in Lyon. She was scared but tried to pretend she wasn’t. She was lucky. She’d stayed out of sight because she didn’t want to be stopped and it seems no one unsavory got ahold of her. But she was hungry and dirty and had run out of money. 

“When I brought her back...” Bruce sighed. “None of us wanted to...but we had to stop Marinette from trying to find you again. We got more specific with her about the details of your death and why we hadn’t found a body. That finally seemed to convince her you were dead, but it broke her. She stopped speaking for two months.”

Jason felt like he was going to hyperventilate or throw up or both. He held his head in his hands and leaned over with his elbows on his knees. 

Why did he ever believe Talia? He knew she was using him! Turning him into her own, living weapon. But then, at that point, he thought all anyone ever did was use him. He’d forgotten about the people who never had. 

“They all attended grief counseling diligently.” Bruce informed. “They still go. Tom and Sabine donate a large portion of funds every year to a children’s literacy fund in your memory. They bought a grave plot for you, even without your body to bury. Marinette appears to be quiet about the subject, but she writes an anonymous blog about you. It started as a way to process her grief, but turned into a venue for her to reach out to kids who were struggling or feeling alone. She doesn’t want anyone to hurt like you did.”

Jason didn’t answer but Bruce didn’t expect him to. 

Bruce pulled up a recent picture of the three Dupain-Chengs and Jason stared at his family. Tom and Sabine had aged gracefully. It wasn’t hard to reconcile the little girl he remembered as his sister with the beautiful teen she’d grown into, but it hurt his heart to realize how much time he’d lost of her growing up years. The picture was obviously a family portrait and though they were all smiling they each held onto one side of a framed photo of Jason—still including him in the family portrait the only way they could. 

“Your body was never discovered because Talia stole it from the rubble.” Bruce reminded him. 

“So?” Jason gasped. 

“So, maybe after all these years...we can tell Marinette she was right.”

  
  


*****

  
  


When the classroom phone abruptly interrupted Mme. Bustier’s lesson, it caught everyone’s attention. 

“Now?” Mme. Buster said in surprise to whoever called. Her shock only seemed to grow as she listened to what was said. “I see.”

She hung up and looked directly at Marinette. 

“Marinette, you’re being excused to return home immediately.” Mme. Bustier said. “There seems to be an emergency with your brother.”

Marinette gasped and Nino and Kim immediately turned to her—though everyone was already staring—and they were the first to notice her tears. 

“Brother?” Alya repeated, not noticing Nino trying to catch her attention and cut her off. “You never told me you have a brother?”

“Um...Jason died a long time ago.” Marinette said softly. “It’s hard to talk about and since Hawkmoth appeared I haven’t really felt like I have the luxury. You’ve seen his picture at the bakery, though. You just didn’t know who it was. I-if somethings come up...t-they probably finally f-found his b-bo...”

Marinette choked on her words and she busied herself by gathering her things and trying to hide the tremble in her hands. A soft touch stopped her and she looked up to see Adrien watching her with understanding, sympathetic eyes and she suddenly remembered his mother disappeared and her body was also never recovered. 

“Marinette, would you like someone to walk you back?” Adrien asked gently. 

“Oh, Adrien, I’m sure Marinette wouldn’t want to be a distraction and disturb class.” Lila said sweetly from the back row. 

Marinette did not miss the glare Adrien sent Lila, and neither did half the class—the half that wasn’t already glaring at Lila. 

“I’m fine.” Marinette said, swallowing back the tears that were building in ferocity. 

“I’ll walk you out, Marinette.” Mme. Bustier offered gently as Marinette almost ran out the door. 

The class sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment but it was broken when Kim suddenly stood up and walked down to face the class. 

“Nobody's going to question Marinette about her brother. Period.” Kim said firmly. 

“We both knew Jason.” Nino added from his seat. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “We were some of Marinette’s first friends when her family moved back to Paris. Jason was the best. Losing Jason just devastated them.”

Everyone was silent. Alya was trying to process this new information about her best friend and Adrien’s heart was aching for the Dupain-Chengs—he knew all too well how they were hurting.

“Move back to Paris?” Lila asked innocently. “Where were they from? What happened to her brother?”

Adrien tensed and turned to look at her sharply. “That’s Marinette’s business and she’ll share it _when_ she’s ready and _if_ she’s ready.”

“And _none_ of us are going to ask, right guys?” Kim asked menacingly. 

There were immediate murmurs of agreement and concerned, whispered questions were tossed back and forth between the classmates. Mme. Bustier returned and the class went back to its lesson. 

“Nino?” Alya leaned over and whispered. “She...?”

Alya didn’t seem to know what to ask but Nino nodded to her and whispered back, “Jason was Marinette’s hero. She never wanted to accept that he was gone and she kept running away to find him. When she finally did accept he wasn’t coming back, she stopped talking for two months. I think we were eleven at that point, but Marinette would have been around nine or ten since she skipped a grade.”

“Maybe we could stop by during lunch?” Adrien suggested. “Check on her and see if they need anything?”

“Yeah...” Alya said, though her voice cracked. “I think that’s a good idea.” 

  
  


*****

  
  


Nino and Kim led the small party as they approached the bakery. Like they expected, the bakery was closed but the back door was still unlocked and they walked upstairs to the apartment in silence. 

Adrien was just glad they managed to escape the school before anyone gave Lila the chance to pull Adrien from the group like she clearly wanted to—probably with some excuse about a photoshoot during lunch. 

Tom opened the door when they knocked. It was obvious Tom had been crying but his smile surprised Adrien. Maybe having this closure was a relief? That’s what Adrien always imagined when he thought about how he would feel if his mother was recovered. Though...the others seemed surprised by Tom’s smile, so maybe he read the situation right and it really was unusual. 

“Kids! Come in, come in!” Tom ushered them through the door. 

“Um...hey M. D-C.” Nino said and took his hat off after Alya elbowed him in the ribs. “Um...we just wanted to check on you dudes and see if there was anything we could do?”

“Guys?” Marinette's watery voice called out from the kitchen before Tom could answer Nino and they all turned around just as she bolted to them and ambushed them in a hug. She immediately pulled back before they could respond and started tugging them to the kitchen counter where she and Sabine had a video call set up on the laptop. “Look! It’s Jason! Jason’s alive!”

Kim looked skeptical but Nino sucked in a breath when he saw the face on the screen. Kim finally took a good look and his jaw dropped. The man also had obvious tear stains, but he was unmistakably Jason. Older, struggle worn, but still Jason Dupain-Cheng. 

“I-I can’t believe it...” Kim gasped. 

Marinette couldn’t hold still, she was so excited. “Jay-Jay, do you remember my friends Nino and Kim?”

Jason smiled. “I do. Good to see you guys. You’ve been treating my Pixie Pop well?” 

“Like she’d let us treat her any other way.” Kim said on autopilot. “Holy smoke! How are you not dead?!”

Marinette ignored the question for now and pulled Alya and Adrien into view. 

“Jay, you haven’t met them, but this my best friend Alya,” Marinette stammered, “a-and this is my friend A-Adrien.”

Something flashed through Jason’s eyes and he suddenly looked much more protective. “I see...you do know you still can’t hide anything from me, Pixie Pop, right?”

Marinette flushed bright red, for what reason Adrien wasn’t sure, and started stuttering out incoherent denials. Nino distracted him before he could ask if she was okay. 

“Dude!” Nino had to take off his glasses to wipe his eyes. “I really can’t believe this! Jay, I always wanted to tell you what an impact you made on me. I-I have a little brother now. I j-just...man! When my parents told me about him all I could think was I wanted to be at least half the big brother you were. Y-you were a-awesome, dude.”

Jason looked down and away from the camera, not seeming to know what to say. 

“Where have you been, man?” Kim asked bluntly. 

“I’m getting on a flight.” Jason said instead. “I should arrive tomorrow.”

“You’re coming home?!” Marinette asked giddily. 

“I’m coming home.” Jason nodded and Sabine didn’t try to hide the tears streaming down her face. Her hands pressed against the computer screen as though she could reach through it and touch her son’s face. “I promised, didn’t I?”

  
  


*****

  
  


Marinette went to school the next day, despite her parents' offer for her to stay home and get ready for Jason and mentally recover from the shock. She was overflowing with nervous, excited energy and happily shared with everyone that her big brother was coming home. 

Lila dug herself a hole she couldn’t get herself out of when she arrived to class and saw how excited Marinette was. Lila missed the update that Jason was alive and she “quietly” exclaimed to Mylène and Rose about how crass it was that Marinette was so bubbly about her brother’s body being found. “You know, I went to the bakery and heard her poor parents trying to dissuade her from holding some kind of party at his grave. I know people handle grief differently--but if she really loved her brother, she would be more sad.”

Mylène and Rose reared back in surprise and Alix’s jaw dropped in shock. Lila realized she suddenly had the whole class’ attention when she’d only been aiming for the two most tender-hearted of the bunch. Nino was staring aghast at her and Kim looked ready to throw down. 

Adrien wasn’t even pretending to not be glaring at her and Marinette only looked miffed but also somewhat...smugly pleased?

“I don’t mean to be harsh.” Lila back peddled. “But I’ve volunteered at grief counseling and this just isn’t healthy, Marinette. Maybe you should take your parents up on their offer of therapy? I know it’s hard to admit you need help, but it can be so worth it.”

“You’re right.” Marinette said tensely. “It can be more than worth it. I’ve been in grief counseling for years and it’s been an immense help.”

“You heard Marinette’s parents talking about Jason’s grave?” Alya questioned in a low growl. 

“Yes.” Lila answered, trying to pacify Alya’s unexplained anger. “Just this morning. I stopped by for a croissant and I heard them discussing the memorial with Marinette. They’re planning it as soon as the body is positively identified, isn’t that right, Marinette? Or...is there not much left to identify?”

Lila slid the dig in under the guise of innocent concern and enjoyed seeing it hit her mark, though not as fully as she’d hoped. When Lila’d skipped her afternoon classes to inform M. Agreste of Marinette’s “questionable past” she’d taken the rest of the afternoon to brainstorm ways of salting Marinette’s wounds without being obvious. 

To her surprise she received a few shocked gasps for her comment. 

“Adrien, don’t you agree with me?” Lila asked in confusion. “You and your father have plenty of experience with this matter.”

Adrien seemed to tense and Marinette and Nino both put a comforting hand on his shoulders. Still, she expected him to diffuse the situation. 

“No, Lila, I don’t.” Adrien grit out and the intensity of his glare surprised her. “While I would never compare one person’s losses and struggles to another, I feel confident saying Marinette and her parents went through more trauma than I can imagine when they learned the details surrounding Jason’s disappearance. But I can say that if I were in their shoes, I would also be excited and jumping for joy if my mother was suddenly discovered _alive_ and I was about to reunite with her!”

Lila paled. Alive?

“You lied?” Alya accused. “And you tried to criticize Marinette in the process?”

“No! I—“

“Well you sure didn’t tell the truth!” Kim accused. “The bakery is still closed and there’s no way you heard them discussing a memorial—because there’s no reason to have one!”

“I must have heard them talking about a welcome back party and misunderstood.” Lila said remorsefully. 

The class was still looking at her distrustfully but Mme. Bustier came in and brought them to order before they could question her further. 

  
  


*****

  
  


“Mama, Papa! I’m home!” Marinette called as she raced up the stairs to the apartment. 

When she opened the door, she saw her parents eagerly getting ready to pick Jason up at the airport. Sabine was putting the finishing touches on Jason’s favorite desert so it’d be ready when they got home. Tom was rushing around aimlessly like a chicken with its head cut off, so worked up he couldn’t stand still. 

Marinette dashed upstairs and snatched up the welcome home banner she’d stayed up late the night before to make—she couldn’t sleep anyway and kept texting Jason and telling Tikki all the stories she’d kept locked away in her heart until then. Tikki flew around the room a few times—a show of her own empathetic excitement—while Marinette stored a few extra cookies in her purse. 

Tikki gave her a cheek muzzle before going back in her purse and Marinette flew down the steps again. 

“Tom!” Sabine said in exasperation. “You're so worked up you’re sweating right through your shirt! And you're still in your Ladybug slippers! Go change, we have to get going—and I’m driving!”

Tom started to head to their bedroom when they heard a knock downstairs. 

“Marinette, can you get that?” Tom asked. “I’m not sure I rescheduled the flour delivery.”

“Sure, Papa!” Marinette happily agreed and then skipped down the stairs, more than ready to leave to pick up her big brother!

“Hi! We’re in a bit of a hurry, but you can—” Marinette gasped as she opened the door fully. 

“Hey, Pixie Pop.” Jason said. “I can do what, now?”

“Jay-Jay!” Marinette shouted and almost knocked him over when she jumped to hug him. 

Thuds from upstairs were quickly followed by quick footfalls rushing down the steps and suddenly Tom and Sabine were there—Tom with only half of a clean, good shirt pulled over one of his shoulders and Sabine covered in what looked like splattered chocolate and still carrying a piping bag. 

“Hi, Papa. Hi, Mama.” Jason managed. 

The piping bag was dropped and Jason was quickly engulfed in a group hug. Jason found himself almost completely smothered by Tom’s big arms and Sabine’s tiny frame and Marinette’s (more grown up but still very tiny and in need of protection, in Jason’s opinion) bear-trap grip. 

  
  


*****

  
  


Jason sat on the couch with a big slice of chocolate cake in his lap and with Marinette clinging to his side like saran wrap. 

“You ever letting me go, Pixie Pop?” Jason asked with a chuckle. 

“No!” She pouted. “You do stupid things and make bad decisions when I let go! Like that awful haircut!”

Jason snorted. “What’s wrong with my hair?!”

“You look like a skunk.”

“I haven’t had complaints before...” he said smugly. 

“We’re these _supposed_ people that didn’t complain trying to avoid getting beaten up at the time?” Marinette asked smartly. “Or have you befriended Pepe Le Pew?”

Jason laughed loudly at that but settled down when he saw Tom and Sabine looking more somber. 

“Son...” Tom started but choked up. 

“You want to know what happened, right?” Jason sighed. He knew this was coming. 

At first, Jason sidestepped the issue and his family was so elated to know he was alive that they hadn’t pressed for details beyond the fact that he had been removed from the explosion site and treated without the proper authorities being notified and he’d been lost in the shuffle. But that still didn’t account for the close to five years they thought he’d been dead.

“Um...Batman’s actually the one who got through to me...” Jason started hesitantly. “He told me he explained the first part of what happened?”

At their nods and Marinette’s tightened grip, he gratefully accepted that he didn’t have to rehash the horrific circumstances of his death. He started to explain the cover story he worked out with Bruce.

“So...after the explosion I don’t remember much.” Jason began and he ended up putting down his plate and hugging Marinette like a teddy bear without even thinking. “I was stolen from the site and...treated remotely before Batman could find me. It’s safe to say I would be dead if they hadn’t stepped in...but the people who took me were not good people. They were kinda...a cult? I don’t want to go into details...” there was _no way_ he was involving them with the League of Assassins. “But, when I recovered physically I was still mentally broken. I had a lot of...PTSD and rage. The people played with my mind, got me to think you guys didn’t want me and were better off without me—“

“Never!” Sabine exclaimed and both she and Tom ambushed him in another hug. 

Jason swallowed around the lump in his throat. 

“I-I’m sorry...” Jason said. “I never should have believed them, but I did. I let them turn me into someone you would have hated.”

“We could never hate you, Jason.” Tom interrupted. “You might have done some things we might hate, but you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to. If you do tell us, we will be here to help you through any and everything. No matter what, we love you and we will help you in any way we can.”

“Batman figured out what happened eventually and got through to me.” Jason added. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come home.”

“Oh, Sweetheart!” Sabine cried. “We don’t care how long it took, we’re just so grateful you're alive and well! But I hope you know we aren’t letting you out of our sight for a good, long time.”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah, I know. I’m not going anywhere for awhile. Besides, I have big brother duties to make up for and, apparently, a blond boy to intimidate...”

“Don’t you dare!” Marinette panicked. 

  
  


*****

  
  


“Absolutely-freaking-no!” Jason shouted. 

Marinette—well...Ladybug—jumped and whirled around to stare wide-eyed at her brother, who was glaring at her in the middle of the street. Cat Noir landed beside her in confusion. 

“Ja—Gah... random citizen!” Ladybug stammered. “What seems to be the problem?”

If possible, Jason looked even angrier. “Oh, no! Don’t even try it! I told you, you cannot hide anything from me, Marinette!”

Cat Noir gasped and stared at Ladybug in a look mixed between shock and adoration and glee. 

“Gah!” Ladybug spun around, but thankfully no one was nearby. “I don’t know what you're talking about!”

Jason matched up to her and matched her pouting-glare for pouting-glare. “Yeah, not buying it. I knew something was up! I’d recognise these freckles anywhere!”

Ladybug batted Jason’s hands away when he pinched both her cheeks.

“Marinette?” Cat Noir gasped in wonder, only withering slightly when she aimed her glare at him. 

“Oh, don’t think I forgot about you, model boy!” Jason growled. “You’re next!”

That startled them both and Ladybug and Cat Noir alternated between staring at each other and staring at Jason. 

“I did _not_ get blown up, brought back to life, and worked over by an evil, megalomaniac she-devil to let you die playing hero in a spandex suit with a Cat Woman knock off!” Jason growled but then took a double take at Cat Noir. “Wait, you're not a kid of Cat Woman’s are you?”

“No.” Cat Noir said, stupefied. 

“You sure?” Jason looked skeptical. “Because I wouldn’t be surprised, and the Bat already has one biological kid he was never told about...”

“What is going on?!” Ladybug exclaimed. 

Crashes from the nearby akuma—it was Gigantitan again and Marinette _did not_ want to be there when Jay found out how old August was. He’d already flipped when she explained Paris’ resident emotional-parasite supervillain. 

“We don’t have time for this!” Ladybug shook herself to focus. “Jay-Jay, I promise I’ll explain but you can’t say anything! Not even to Mama and Papa!”

Jason looked positively incensed. “They don’t know?!”

“No one knows! No one was supposed to know!” Ladybug stressed. 

“Really? I thought it was pretty obvious.” Jason sassed dismissively. 

“We can talk later...apparently about a lot of things...” Ladybug said in bewilderment as she stared wide-eyed at her partner. “But we have to go!”

“Not without me.” Jason said firmly. 

“Jay, you can’t—“

“I’m Red Hood. I’ve got guns and I’ve got rubber bullets.” Jason interrupted. 

Ladybug stared at him, her face slack. Cat Noir started giddily jumping in place and began squealing something about a crossover team up. Finally, his little sister sighed. 

“Fine, but I’m getting you the Turtle Miraculous!” Ladybug grumbled. “The old holder was exposed anyway and it’ll give you more protection.”

“I won’t turn it down.” Jason smugly agreed. “I can be Green Hood just as easily as Red Hood. Plus, I’m assuming you’ll have to go get it and that’ll give me time to have a chat with your little kitty friend.”

Cat Noir gulped. 

“Maybe the transformation will do something useful to that awful skunk streak too...” Ladybug muttered as she swung away. 

“Hey!”


End file.
